House Month Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Mason

House Month Volunteers are individuals that choose to commit a significant portion of volunteer time to a single home's progress over the summer. They volunteer three days a week for a month, and get to see a house become a home for a family partnering with Twin Cities Habitat.

Guest blog written by House Month Volunteer, Mason

I would recommend House Month to any young person with an interest in the building environment and looking for some valuable summer experience. I was interested in finding some relevant volunteer experience this summer and Twin Cities Habitat seemed like the perfect fit.

The commitment was worth every minute! There are not many opportunities that both provide valuable experience and allow you to give back to your community. 

I had past involvement with the ReStore back in my hometown of Madison, WI and really enjoyed my time there. I heard about House Month during a volunteer day with Habitat for Humanity Club here at the University of Minnesota. After looking deeper, it became clear that this would be an excellent opportunity to learn,  particularly as someone with limited experience in construction. 

I could list a handful of new construction techniques I've picked up during my time here, but upon reflection they will likely be secondary to the soft skills I've accumulated.

Knowing how to communicate with those around you, especially on an active construction site, is of utmost importance. To get things done efficiently and safely the entire team needs to be clued-in to the objective. It takes one misunderstanding to create a slew of problems for everyone.